Monday, January 3, 2011

Preventing Inflation

Inflation is when money becomes less valuable, as goods and services become more expensive. A small amount is practically expected. A large amount is ruinous. Keeping it under control is a very important task for nations. Inflation increases when the production of goods and services slows down or when the government prints more money. Inflation decreases, or even gets turned into its evil twin deflation, when the services speed up faster than money is printed, or if the bills get destroyed by someone other than the government.
This gives me a wonderfully weird idea to slow or kill off inflation. Potlach. Potlach was an old ceremony from Pacific coast tribes in which they were throw a feast for everyone and set part of their wealth on fire. This had the effect of increasing social equality while still allowing the high-rollers to show off and get additional status. For a modern version, we'd have a big huge party for our sponsors, with food and music and speeches about how awesome they are. This culminates with them stacking a huge number of bills on a stack and setting them on fire. As the bill burns, the sponsor gives a speech on any topic of their choosing. Inflation is controlled, rich people get to show off, almost everyone wins. It's best not to do this too often, though, as there is a minor expense in printing the bills in the first place.

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